Future of popular after-school program in Newark, Paterson uncertain after budget cuts

TRENTON — The future of a popular program that provides after-school activities to students in mostly urban areas is uncertain after Gov. Chris Christie slashed its budget

“We are devastated,” said Mark Valli, head of the NJ After 3, which provides afterschool programming for 5,000 students in cities like Newark and Paterson.

Christie stripped the program of its $3 million in funding when he released his original budget in February, but Democrats restored the allocation as part of the $30.6 billion spending plan they sent to the governor this week.

Christie, however, used the line-item veto to wipe out the funding, arguing that the state does not have the resources. The governor's office is refusing to provide specific explanations for the cuts, instead relying on the broad defense that there was not enough money to prevent them.

When asked to defend the cuts at a news conference yesterday, Christie responded, "Now let’s not start going down that road, I’m not going to be answering every one of these. Because we can’t afford it. The reason, by the way, that I cut every one of these is we can’t afford it. I’d love to do it. I’d love to do most of the things they put in there."

Valli said they leveraged the $3 million in funding this year to attract $4 million in private investment.

“Without the state funding, that goes away,” he said.

Valli said they are holding an emergency meeting next week to discuss the future of the program.

The non-profit, which once received $15 million in state funding, has six full-time and three part-time employees.